How to deal with disruptive people at meetings
Meetings can be ruined by disruptive people who try to dominate proceedings at the expense of others. They frequently interrupt, emotionalise issues, sidetrack, challenge, complain, engage in repetitious speech making, threaten, discount the contributions of others, personalise issues, and in general throw a pall of gloom over the proceedings. Managers must minimise such disruptions and regain control over the meeting. Here are several strategies for handling disruptive people...
1. Create a smaller audience for them.
Give disruptive people only one or two people to influence. Break the meeting into smaller groups and instruct each group to generate statements by consensus, before reporting back to the full meeting.
2. Get a disruptive person to confront the issue.
Ignore the content of an individual's remarks and openly tackle the problem. For example, say: 'You seem particularly upset or disruptive today, John, especially when someone disagrees with you. Is there any way the rest of us can help you?' Alternatively, gain the support of the rest of the group by becoming a little emotional over the issue - by stating precisely how you feel about the situation. For example, say: 'As chair, I feel powerless to accomplish anything at present and I get upset when you try to take over the meeting and have your own way. John, how can we get this meeting back on to an even keel?'
3. Attack the content.
Three strategies could be adopted here to force the person to focus on content rather than disruption:
- Turn the disruptive individual's questions, pessimistic asides, or veiled threats into statements. This procedure will force that person to take responsibility for expressing a point of view rather than block proceedings with questions or disparaging comments.
- If he or she continues to block the suggestions of other participants (‘It just won’t work!’), say something like ‘OK, Bill, let’s hear specifically why you think it won’t work. Give us three good reasons.’
- Reduce the person's position to absurdity. Interrogate him or her to get to the bottom of the argument being put forward.
